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I so often see people claiming the right of "freedom of speech" when they are being antagonistic or trying to stress their opinion over the opinion of others. Yes there is a right to free speech. You can say anything you want to say. There are, however, places where you can't say those things. Try yelling "Bomb!" in an airport terminal right about now and then using the defense of "freedom of speech".

I know that's not even close to comparing to the forums here in the general scheme of things but the basis remains the same. None of us really wants to see links to volitile issues far removed from geocaching in a post dealing strictly with geocaching. Not really. I've been guilty of posting something that went a little beyond the pale and saw numerous posts from people I really like saying I was wrong to have posted. I was guilty of crossing the line and posting something that was politically hot and I shouldn't have, even though it was an attempt to make a point and (I'll freely admit this...) very poorly worded for the point I was trying to make.

I really like the point Rick made, if there's been a problem revolving around anyone working behind the scenes to support this site - why is he just now hearing about it and all expressed in the public forums?

hehehehe. I liked this part. I thought we were a free country with freedom of speech preserved in the Bill of Rights??

Litchfield is the seat of sedition, dang!!! Whowudda thought?

We DO have freedom of speech in our country. What we don't have is freedom of speech EVERYWHERE. If I go in your house and say things that offend you, you have every right to boot me out. I can stand outside (on the public sidewalk) and say those things, but not on your property.

A private website (a domain purchased by an individual) is the same thing. The forums are open to the public and comments and ideas are welcome, discussed and debated. The site owner does have the right to moderate, guide or censor any discussion he or she wants, for any reason. There are websites that offend me greatly in their speech. I don't visit them.

As an example, our site has always seemed to keep away from politics and religious topics, as they can quickly snowball into arguments and have little or nothing to do with geocaching. People have the freedom to discuss those topics, but this site owner and moderators try to keep threads focused on caching and related topics.

Firstly, I understood Rick's intent. The fact that it was a faux pas on Rick's part was not lost on me and I was making light of it. Secondly, the fact that my pointing out the faux pas was used out of context, twisted and spun into some kind of political statement on my part is exactly what is supposedly being discouraged. Ironic!! Jeff Foxworthy would have been tried and hung should he come here. That's your sign!!

I did not make this an issue of freedom of speech. I will continue to point out faux pas and erroneous assumptions only because I think they are funny not to debate semantics.

Again, Rick encourages input and input is reciprocally discouraged by a few because it doesn't fit into the "groove" they think it should.

Oh, I know Rick is not a subversive nor do I think he is evil or ill-intented. Just the opposite of the spin that is presented. If Rick was the only voice here I think he comes closer to my line of thinking than all those that think they are defending his virtue.

There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.~~Albert Einstein

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Many wise words are spoken in jest, but they don't compare with the number of stupid words spoken in earnest.- Sam Levenson (1911 - 1980)

discussions....

I think that a lot of discussions have come to light recently and seating a new board is part of that. I would ask that those who think change is necessary, wait till a new board is voted on and see what happens. Then you can all post you thoughts so they can be addressed.

Thanks to those who asked questions and to Rick for making it clear to me.

Looks like 2011 will be a very interesting year here at Geocachingmaine.org

Why not live life like it is your last day....instead of pretending to be a member of the Peter Pan Club and believing you will be around forever.

time to take a deep breath folks

The current discussions suggest to me that the new board will need to address transparency, what moderators are supposed to "moderate" and what happens to members who cross the line. A lot happened today that the current board and moderators haven't shared. That's part of the problem. Were they right to ban Chadd for life? If a cacher with the integrity of Lexmano posts questions and his questions are promptly placed in a area on this site, is that right? I don't know. What was said to result in those drastic results? Can this be shared? Should it be shared?

I've made myself clear that I'd like to see a much higher level of civility here and a site more focused on geocaching, but in the meantime, unless the post are grossly personal, I'd like to see what folks are saying and thinking, in the "board room" and out. Hard for me to decide if what went on today was addressed fairly without seeing what was said and why it was promptly hidden from the rest of us. If I'm a new board member, this won't EVER happen!

You have raised an issue that probably needs addressing. I should look into assigning a few moderators. This way the Administrators can strictly stick to administrating the software and help when moderators need help. I will wait until the new board members are elected and then I will address assigning a moderator or two with the new board members and we will work on some guidelines about editing, deleting, removing and banning members. Thanks you for bringing that to my attention.

I think that is a great idea Rick and certainly a positive step in the right direction. And I think waiting for the new board to be put in place first is a good idea as well. That way we can start all fresh and new. The moderator(s) need to be totally separate from the Administrator/Board Members. A non-geocacher that does not know the history of controversy on this site would be ideal. Someone who can make non-biased decisions about what he perceives as “over the line” content and treat everyone equally.

Originally Posted by attroll

On the other side of this and not to be disrespectful but if you or anyone else has had a problem with any one person or individual that has been moderating, administrating or taking care of the spammers why did I not hear about it in a private message before? Why am I all of a sudden hearing about it now?

As for your last question? With all due respect I don’t believe you are hearing about this now for the first time. I know for a fact that some members on this site have made complaints in the past against a certain admin member who is allowed to post whatever he wants. There are times when he should have been banned too. So how do you ban one of your own? You don’t. That’s why you do not make one of the top instigators on this site a member of the panel. It’s a bad idea.Your above solution would solve that issue by making sure this admin person is accountable like everyone else….and not just slapped on the hand so he can turn around and do it over and over again just because he is who he is and he can. You need to set an example if you want people to feel like they are being treated equally. I see that as one of the biggest flaws in your current system. So for all the above reasons is why I never sent you a PM. Why bother?

So… As others have commented in the past few weeks…”If you don’t like the sight then go away because your legitimate questions and observations are not welcome here” That’s the message I keep hearing over and over again to anyone who challenges the panel in any way, shape, or form. So I will do just that. I will slap the Scarlet letter on my back and quietly go back to my little corner of the world.

I sincerely want you to know Rick that I have nothing against you personally. You are obviously a decent guy. I just think you have made some bad choices in terms of your website that’s all. I hope proposed resolution above works out and the site can get back to the good geocaching content it used to have back in the early days. I really hope it does.

This is my last post….and since apparently the only say any of us really have on this site is the ability to lock our own thread… that is what I am going to do.

Nuff’ said

Dang it! …except apparently the jokes on me….. because the instructions on how to do that are not even valid.http://www.geocachingmaine.org/forum...ead.php?t=3416The thread tools at the top of my post do not give me the option to lock my own thread yet this link says I have the power in me. When did this feature get taken away from us?

Project suggestion for new board when the time comes. For cryin’ out loud update the links and update the content on these pages.

Since I can’t do it myself …Rick can you please lock this thread for me? Thank you.

"It may be that your soul purpose in life is simply to serve as a warning to others" ~Steven Wright~